As you read this, Christmas will be upon us, and hopefully you are finished with all the shopping, partying and going that is required of us during this time of year. Maybe you will have a quite Christmas Eve with family and Christmas Day will be filled with fun and laughter.
Christmas is a time of tradition. Some traditions last for years and years, but sometime or the other the tradition has to end or be changed at least temporarily if not permanent.
Some traditions that have been a part of my life in the past have been when I was little boy, I always got a pair of Levi blue jeans, a package of underwear and toy or fun item. Memorable gifts during that time were my first bicycle and my first BB gun. But as time would have it I no longer got blue jeans and underwear.
After a time, my older siblings began to marry and there was the ever-present problem of trying to find time for family Christmas when at least four families were involved, my mom made a deal with us that if we would give her New Year’s Day, then she would give up Christmas Day.
That worked great and many smaller traditions emerged from that, such as my mom driving through the North-side of Monroe and getting a flocked Christmas tree out of the ditch. Another thing she would do was get these brown gift bags with an armadillo on it and fill it with all kinds of little gadgets and gifts for each particular person.
But as the cycle of life would have it my mom died and these traditions ended. Shortly thereafter my sister moved to New Zealand and my brother drifted away and contact was lost and he eventually passed away. So for the last thirty-five years my family (the Ray family) has ceased to exist.
On Lisa’s side of the family all three begin to have children and it became important for each of the three families to have Christmas at home with their children. This meant that Christmas with Jean, Lisa’s mom and the three sibling’s families was moved to sometime the weekend before Christmas.
For Lisa, Cameron and I, we developed the tradition of on Christmas Eve we would conduct the Christmas Eve Service there at Fellowship then come home and Lisa would cook breakfast food. We would have biscuits, bacon, sausage, eggs, gravy, and homemade fried potatoes.
We would open a few presents that night and then on Christmas Day we would travel to Branson, Missouri for a week of vacation. One of the big traditions was we would take our stockings that were stuffed with all kinds of small goodies and gifts and as we traveled about every thirty minutes each one of us would open a stocking gift. That tradition too has passed.
Well as time has passed, the Christmas family traditions have changed. Lisa’s brother and sister now their children have their own children (that’s grandchildren for Beth and David). It now has proven too difficult for the family to get together for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Ray’s Christmas looks somewhat the same in that the Christmas Eve we will find a Christmas Eve service to attend and the traditional meal of bacon, sausage, eggs blackstone and grits, etc. But yet different in that there is no extended family Christmas gathering. It will simply be Cameron, Lisa and myself. The core family. The only ones who I can claim as family. This year our Christmas will be here at home. The last several years it has been in Texas at Cameron’s place.
As our traditions come and go, let us not forget nor change the most important tradition, and that is to praise and worship our Lord for what Christmas really means – love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Merry Christmas my good friends and faithful readers and may the Lord Bless you as you celebrate HIM.
